Repeating task: done flag stays false after marking complete

[realchrisolin]

Pre-submission checklist

• I have searched for existing open or closed issue reports with the same problem.

Description

Pre-submission checklist

• I have searched for existing open or closed issue reports with the same problem.

Description

When marking a repeating task as done via the REST API, the done field in the API response stays false even though the request explicitly includes "done": true. The done_at timestamp is updated correctly, but the task remains open in all interfaces. This affects all interfaces that use the REST API (web UI, Android app, direct API calls), not just one client.

Steps to reproduce

1. Create a task with a repeat interval: repeat_after: 86400, repeat_mode: 0
2. Mark the task as done via the API: POST /api/v1/tasks/{id} {"done": true, "repeat_after": 86400, "repeat_mode": 0, ...}
3. Observe the response: done is false, but done_at has a new timestamp.

Expected behavior

The task should be marked as done. The API response should reflect done: true.

Actual behavior

The done field remains false whenever repeat_after is present in the task. This is consistent across the web UI, REST API directly, and any client relying on the API response.

Additional investigation

• Clearing repeat_after to null in the same request as done: true makes done flip to true - the presence of repeat_after blocks the flag.
• Any subsequent API request that includes repeat_after in the payload (even without touching done) resets done back to false.
• This appears to be related to v2.3.0 changes to recurring task handling (PR fix: route recurring tasks to default bucket when marked done #2574).

Environment

• Vikunja version: v2.3.0

Vikunja Version

2.3.0

Browser and version

No response

Can you reproduce the bug on the Vikunja demo site?

Yes

Screenshots

No response

[realchrisolin]

pkg/models/tasks.go — the updateDone function (line 1701+) and its three setTaskDates* helpers

When you mark a repeating task done, the flow is:

1. API request {"done": true, "repeat_after": 86400}
   t.Done = true, t.RepeatAfter = 86400
2. updateDone(&ot, t) called at line 1271
   condition "!ot.Done && t.Done" = true (old task not done, request says done)
   setTaskDatesDefault() called on t
   t.Done = false <- this is the reset for the next occurrence
3. mergo.Merge(&ot, t) at line 1333
   copies t (Done=false) into ot
   ot.Done = false
4. Cols(colsToUpdate...).Update(&ot)
   writes ot.Done = false to DB

The setTaskDatesDefault/setTaskDatesMonthRepeat/setTaskDatesFromCurrentDateRepeat functions unconditionally set newTask.Done = false (lines 1596, 1625, 1693) to reset the task for its next occurrence, but this overwrites the done: true, and since "done" is in colsToUpdate, that false gets written to the DB.

The done field is in colsToUpdate (line 1108), so it is being written, but the value written is false because t.Done was already corrupted to false by step 2 before the merge.

[kolaente]

This is by design. When you mark a repeating task done, all dates are increased and the task is un-done again.

https://vikunja.io/help/dates-and-reminders/#repeating-tasks

[HydraulicGoose]

Having a repeating task get instantly un-done regardless of the repeating date doesn't seem right. Marking my once-a-month repeating task as done, only for nothing to happen, honestly feels like a bug. I'm surprised this is the intended functionality, as a once-a-day task and a once-a-year task are treated the same, as far as marking as done goes.

Video example:

Screencast_20260528_180509.webm